A late juvenile Little Stint was seen at Edenside (1st), three adult Mediterranean Gulls were with the Black-headed Gull flock at Dysart, also two Red-throated Divers and c100 Redwings over SW were noted, a small fall at Fife Ness included c16 Woodcocks, two Merlins, eight Goldcrests and seven Bramblings and much further west at Craigluscar LNR there were eight Whooper Swans, including four juveniles. Seen at Ferry Hills (2nd) were four Taiga Bean Geese, 554 Pink-feet, 13 Whooper Swans, 14 Red-throated Divers, single Black-throated and Great Northern Divers, 17 Little Gulls, one Hawfinch and 30 Bramblings, two Snow Buntings were seen on West Lomond and in a St Andrews garden three Bramblings and a male Blackcap were watched. 17 Whooper Swans passed Fife Ness heading S and that was the continuation of a very impressive spell for seawatching at Fife Ness with c14 Grey Phalaropes, one Great Northern Diver N, one Black-throated Diver S, 17 Red-throated Divers, two Little Auks N, two Puffins, 47 Little Gulls, two Long-tailed Ducks N, six Common Scoters N and four Bonxies N and the next day the count was two Great Northern Divers N, 1S, one Black-throated Diver, 38 Red-throated Divers, three Grey Phalaropes, 28 Little Auks, five Puffins N, plus two on the water, one Tystie N, 67 Common Scoters N, three Velvet Scoters N, nine Long-tailed Ducks N, 1S, 21 Little Gulls, four Pintails S, two Teal S, 20 Wigeon N, seven Mallard N and one Mediterranean Gull N. Seen from Out Head were 15 Long-tailed Ducks and a Red-throated Diver and on Windmill Road, Cellardyke a Woodcock, six Goldfinches, one Coal Tit, one Sparrowhawk and 400 Pink-feet were seen. Seven Whooper Swans passed E over Dunfermline Railway Station (4th), a late Common Sandpiper, one White-tailed Eagle, three Little Egrets, one Kingfisher and a Red-throated Diver were seen from the Eden Estuary Centre and seen from Kinghorn were one Little Auk E, one Great Northern Diver W, three Red-throated Divers E, one Purple Sandpiper with five Turnstones, one Little Gull E, one Kittiwake E, c18 juvenile Gannets, 12 Long-tailed Ducks, and 10 Common Scoters. Noted passing Cellardyke were one Pomarine Skua, 21 Wigeon, 33 Curlews, seven Turnstones and 25 Redshanks and the Seawatching Day Count at Fife Ness was 28 Grey Phalaropes N, 14 Little Auks N, one Puffin N, one Tystie, two Pomarine Skuas N, two Great Northern Divers S, one Black-throated Diver N, 15 Red-throated Divers, nine Little Gulls, two Velvet Scoters N, seven Common Scoters N, three Scaup N, three Wigeon N and two Red-breasted Mergansers N. Logged passing Ferry Hills (5th) were six Whooper Swans, 12 Wigeon, one Pochard, 66 Fieldfares, 205 Redwings, 64 Bramblings, 21 Lesser Redpolls and one Crossbill and seen from Cellardyke were one Great Northern Diver on the water, two Guillemots on the water, one Puffin on the water and one Little Auk E. The Seawatching Day Counts at Fife Ness continued to impress with one White-billed Diver N, six Grey Phalaropes, 833 Little Auks, one Tystie, seven Puffins, eight Great Northern Divers, one Black-throated Diver, nine Red-throated Divers, three Scaup, three Red-breasted Mergansers, eight Little Gulls, one Arctic Skua W, one Pomarine Skua S, one Manx Shearwater N, 21 Common Scoters, six Velvet Scoters, 42 Teal, 26 Wigeon, two Mallard, 11 Greylags, three Long-tailed Ducks, one Merlin in off the sea, along with one Brambling and 45 Starlings, also another Merlin passed S. A 1st calendar year male Goshawk was seen over Anstruther with a Dipper also seen on the Dreel Burn. An adult female Marsh Harrier, 21 Goosanders and 87 Goldeneye were seen off Mugdrum Island, 28 Whooper Swans, nine Mute Swans, 10 Gadwall, 86 Wigeon, seven Tufted Ducks, two Goldeneye, three Teal, 34 Mallards, nine Coots, four Moorhens, four Little Grebes and two Fieldfares were noted at Craigluscar LNR and the Seawatching Day Count at Fife Ness (6th) was 554 Little Auks, one Tystie, 32 Puffins, two Little Gulls, 38 Common Scoters, four Goldeneye S, 13 Pink-feet W, six Red-throated Divers S, 12 Red-breasted Mergansers S, one Goosander S, 10 Long-tailed Ducks, two Grey Phalaropes, one Arctic Skua and three Mute Swans S and noted from Kilminning were 469 Little Auks, one Sooty Shearwater E, one Tystie, five Puffins NE, six Little Gulls, one Black Tern NE, five Common Scoters NE, four Long-tailed Ducks NE, four Grey Phalaropes, including three together and one Woodcock in off the sea, also seen not far away at Anstruther were 67 Little Auks W and further up the Forth at Kinghorn eight Little Auks, one Puffin, 75 Razorbills, four Little Gulls, one Great Northern Diver, one Black-throated Diver, one Manx Shearwater, six Long-tailed Ducks, six Purple Sandpipers and three Goldeneye were seen. Logged passing Anstruther (7th) were 157 Little Auks W, three Black-throated Divers W, nine Red-throated Divers W, one Tystie, one Velvet Scoter W and 650 Pink-feet N. The Seawatching Day Count at Fife Ness was 1252 Little Auks N, 59S, 28 Red-throated Divers S, 4N, one Great Northern Diver N, 3S, 38 Common Scoters N, 6S, 25 Puffins S, 5N, plus one on the water, 13 Long-tailed Ducks N, 8S, four Red-breasted Mergansers S, 2N, two Manx Shearwaters N, two Sooty Shearwaters N, five Wigeon S, one Goldeneye N, 2S, one adult Mediterranean Gull S, 78 Little Gulls N, c24 feeding, two Bramblings in off the sea and one Peregrine and noted off Kilminning were 345 Little Auks 207 SW, 138 NE, two Puffins NE, one Great Northern Diver NE, 15 Red-throated Divers SW, two Long-tailed Ducks SW, 13 Whooper Swans SW and one Goosander SW, whilst seen from Cellardyke were six Little Auks E, 2W, one Razorbill W, one Guillemot E and one Red-throated Diver W. Two Snow Buntings, one Whooper Swan and three Greenshanks were noted at Boarhills and a Short-eared Owl was seen at St Andrews. Two Great Northern Divers passed Pathhead E (8th), seen from Kilminning were 37 Little Auks N, 24S, one Pomarine Skua N, and four Red-throated Divers S, with a Woodcock seen at the lower area and c40 Blackbirds and 12 Redwings at the upper area, 24 Little Auks S, one Great Northern Diver S, two Red-throated Divers S, one Puffin N and one Long-tailed Duck S were noted passing Fife Ness. 41 Redwings were counted at Kilmany, a single Snow Bunting was at Boarhills and at Loch Gelly 84 Pochard, 95 Tufted Ducks, 46 Goldeneye and one Water Rail were seen. Seen from Kinghorn were one Manx Shearwater, 18 Gannets, 12 Common Scoters and six Long-tailed Ducks and several sites in the East Neuk held Twite with counts of 12 at Upper Kenly Farm, 70 at Boghall Farm and 15 at Kingsbarns. There was a count of c1000 Pink-footed Geese, 20 Golden Plovers and a Kestrel at Crow Hill Farm, Anstruther and not far away at Cellardyke four Common Scoters W, five Long-tailed Ducks, four Red-throated Divers, 21 Wigeon, three Twite and one Grey Wagtail were noted passing. Seen from St Andrews were one Velvet Scoter, c40 Scaup, one Red-throated Diver, two Great Crested Grebes and 15 Purple Sandpipers and noted from the Eden Estuary Centre were one White-tailed Eagle, three Great Crested Grebes, seven Little Grebes, four Little Egrets, one Pintail, 43 Scaup, c840 Golden Plovers, 55 Black-tailed Godwits, 151 Dunlin and one Kingfisher. Watched from St David’s Harbour, Dalgety Bay were one Arctic Skua, three Kittiwakes, 10 Great-Crested Grebes, 10 Red-breasted Mergansers, seven Goldeneye, three Eiders, four Red-throated Divers, 15 Razorbills and five Guillemots and from the Sailing Club at Dalgety Bay one Peregrine SW, one Great Northern Diver and five Red-throated Divers were seen. Seven Whooper Swans, 300 Pink-footed Geese, 30 Siskins and 15 Redwings were seen at Kilmany (9th), a late Swallow was at Cellardyke and a terrific seawatch from St Andrews Pier produced one White-billed Diver W, one Grey Phalarope W, plus one on the water, one Little Auk on the water, five Great Northern Divers NW, one SE, plus three on the water, one Black-throated Diver NW plus three on the water, 11 Red-throated Divers NW, 8SE, plus 24 on the water, one Arctic Skua W, 21 Little Gulls W, two Pintail NW, 41 Scaup, 11 Long-tailed Ducks, 29 Velvet Scoters, 68 Wigeon NW, 25SE plus 32 on the water, 46 Teal NW, 13SE, 11 Goldeneye W, 6SE, plus 27 on the water, eight Purple Sandpipers, four Dunlins and one Knot. An adult Mediterranean Gull was in the Bay at Kingsbarns and in St Andrews Bay were one Black-throated Diver, four Red-throated Divers, four Great Crested Grebes, two Velvet Scoters, eight Purple Sandpipers, 13 Goldeneye and 16 Wigeon. Noted passing Fife Ness were 25 Little Auks N, 7S, one Long-tailed Duck N and one Razorbill N, a Woodcock flew over the pitch at Starks Park, Kirkcaldy, two Water Rails were in front of the hide at Kinghorn Loch (10th). 18 Common Scoters W and two Puffins were on the water off Cellardyke and logged passing Fife Ness were six Red-throated Divers S, plus one on the sea, one Puffin N, plus five on the sea, five Long-tailed Ducks S, 23 Eiders S, 6N, 12 Common Scoters N, 2S, one Teal S and one Goldeneye N. Two Mediterranean Gulls, one adult & a 2nd winter, one Kittiwake, 88 Velvet Scoters, 65 Common Scoters, 46 Long-tailed Ducks and one Slavonian Grebe were at Leven, two Red-throated Divers were off Braefoot Point and seen off Anstruther (11th) were four Little Auks W, four Ravens flew W over Winifred Crescent, Kirkcaldy and logged at Ferry Hills were 37 Red-throated Divers W inland, seven Kittiwakes W inland, 10 Goldeneye W and 22 Bramblings. 13 Grey Partridges were seen at Troustrie, Crail, a Dipper and a Goosander were seen at Inverkeithing and seen from Ruddons Point were two Red-throated Divers, one Black-throated Diver, six Long-tailed Ducks, 22 Velvet Scoters, 30 Common Scoters, c120 Shags, one Little Auk, one Slavonian Grebe and one Purple Sandpiper. Noted from Out Head were one White-tailed Eagle, 23 Brent Geese, three Slavonian Grebes, one Great Crested Grebe, c10 Long-tailed Ducks and two Red-throated Divers. Noted passing Fife Ness were 539 Little Auks, four Little Gulls, 10 Puffins, 26 Common Scoters, 58 Red-throated Divers S, one Great Northern Diver S, three Purple Sandpipers, seven Goldeneye S, five Long-tailed Ducks S, one Red-breasted Merganser N, five Wigeon S, also three Woodcocks, 73 Fieldfares, 12 Starlings and four Redwings in off the sea. An adult female Marsh Harrier was watched at Mugdrum Island (12th), a Red-throated Diver and c40 Shags were seen off Ruddons Point, 2500 Pink-footed Geese flew SW over Ferry Hills and the next day at Ferry Hills one Taiga Bean Goose W, three Whooper Swans, 51 Red-throated Divers, one Great Northern Diver and 17 Bramblings were seen. Seen at Kingsbarns were three Great Northern Divers, seven Red-throated Divers, one Tystie, five Puffins, seven Long-tailed Ducks and 32 Purple Sandpipers. Two Black-throated Divers, two Red-throated Divers, one Sandwich Tern and a Slavonian Grebe were seen from Braefoot Terminal (13th), a White-tailed Eagle, sitting on a post, 53 Long-tailed Ducks, one Razorbill, one juvenile Gannet, 23 Red-throated Divers, four Great Crested Grebes, 15 Slavonian Grebes, 16 Little Gulls, 106 Shelducks, a Greenshank and a Goosander were noted from Out Head, 19 Little Auks N, 2S, nine Puffins, one Great Northern Diver N, eight Red-throated Divers and nine Little Gulls S passed Fife Ness and counted in St Andrews Bay were four Great Northern Divers, 12 Red-throated Divers, two Great Crested Grebes, seven Puffins, one Long-tailed Duck, seven Velvet Scoters and a Scaup. In Kirkcaldy (14th), two single Ring-necked Parakeets were seen at two different locations, a Snow Bunting was seen near The Stinky Pool at Fife Ness, a Taiga Bean Goose was seen heading WSW over St Andrews and counted from the Eden Estuary Centre were 101 Scaup, two Greenshanks, 42 Black-tailed Godwits, three Little Egrets, 163 Teal, one Kingfisher, 20 Goldeneye and a Red-throated Diver. Seen from Kinshaldy were two Red-throated Divers, 16 Slavonian Grebes, 11 Long-tailed Ducks, six Velvet Scoters and 50 Little Gulls, a count on Cocklemill Marsh produced four Jack Snipe and 26 Snipe and nearby at Ruddons Point one Black-throated Diver, four Red-throated Divers and three Slavonian Grebes were seen with two Puffins also seen from nearby Kincraig Point. A redhead Smew was at Cameron Reservoir, along with one Scaup, one Merlin and two Crossbills, 11 Little Auks, seven Red-throated Divers, one Velvet Scoter, eight Common Scoters, two Puffins, six Shelducks and a Grey Wagtail and two Swallows were seen at Fife Ness. At Anstruther (15th) were c500 Pink-feet in grass fields opposite the old police station and an adult Mediterranean Gull and seven Purple Sandpipers were seen on rocks below the Golf Club. Two Snow Buntings were at Out Head and three coveys of Grey Partridges, numbering six, 18 and 12 were seen from Windmill Road, Cellardyke. Two adult Mediterranean Gulls were in a gull flock feeding on the football pitches at Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy (16th), a male Brambling was noted at Kilmany and one Snow Bunting, two Stonechats, and three Red-throated Divers were seen at Out Head. Counted from the Eden Estuary Centre were 93 Scaup, 27 Brent Geese, c500 Pink-feet, c600 Golden Plovers, six Little Egrets, two Little Grebes, four Goldeneye, one Buzzard, c50 Wigeon and 50 Teal, two late Swallows were also seen at Leuchars. A mixed flock of c50 Redwings and Fieldfares were watched on Auchtermuchty Common and an interesting observation came from Anstruther Harbour when 15-20 Rock Pipits were seen roosting inside stacks of lobster creels. An adult White-tailed Eagle, one Scaup, c10 Long-tailed Ducks, five Slavonian Grebes, eight Red-throated Divers, one Black-throated Diver, c30 Grey Plovers and c30 Sanderlings were seen at Out Head (17th), two Great Northern Divers flew W at Ferry Hills, one Great Northern Diver N and several Siskin flocks in off the sea were seen at Fife Ness and a Mediterranean Gull was still present at Kingsbarns, noted at Cornceres Farm, Kilrenny, was an immature male Merlin seen to take a Goldfinch from a patch of Sunflowers. A very late Common Sandpiper, 17 Brent Geese, four Little Egrets and c80 Scaup were counted from the Eden Estuary Centre and seen there (18th) were c600 Pink-feet, c100 Scaup, two Red-throated Divers, two Black-throated Divers, two Great Crested Grebes, six Little Grebes, nine Little Egrets, 36 Black-tailed Godwits, one Guillemot and a Sparrowhawk, with 90 Scaup, one juvenile Gannet, two Red-throated Divers and four Little Egrets seen there (19th). Noted from St Andrews Pier were one Tystie NW and one Great Northern Diver S and counted passing Fife Ness (20th) were 708 Little Auks S, 30 Puffins, 10 Common Scoters, three Velvet Scoters, one Long-tailed Duck and 12 Red-throated Divers. Also a Snow Bunting came in off the sea there. One Snow Bunting was still at Out Head and seen at Cocklemill Burn were one Merlin, one Jack Snipe, 22 Snipe and eight Herons. c500 Pink-feet were on a winter crop behind the new Waid school at Anstruther and noted passing over St Monans was an adult Whooper Swan which came over inland from the south, before heading N. At Drumcarrow Farm, St Andrews (21st) a Jack Snipe was a good find, one Woodcock, three pairs of Bullfinches, 15 Goldfinches, two Blackbirds and 15 Grey Partridges were seen on Windmill Road, Cellardyke and noted at Tentsmuir were two Red-throated Divers, 105 Common Scoters, four Velvet Scoters, four Long-tailed Ducks, nine Slavonian Grebes, 15 Whooper Swans W, 62 Red-breasted Mergansers, 860 Eiders, 10 Little Auks N, three Little Egrets, one Greenshank and 10 Snow Buntings. The Seawatching Day Count at Fife Ness was 14 Grey Phalaropes, 106 Little Auks N, 6S, 16 Puffins N, one Sooty Shearwater N, two Great Northern Divers N, one Black-throated Diver N, four Red-throated Divers N, 7S, four Long-tailed Ducks N, 19 Common Scoters and two Velvet Scoters N and seen off Braefoot Terminal were three Red-throated Divers and a Black-throated Diver. Counted passing Fife Ness (22nd) were 23 Common Scoters, 11 Long-tailed Ducks, two Goldeneyes, four Red-throated Divers, one Black-throated Diver S, five Puffins and 12 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, at Lochore Meadows CP three Water Rails, 150 Pink-feet were in the field by the car park and eight Whooper Swans went over NE and up to eight Lesser Redpolls were noted in Newburgh. 18 Snow Buntings were N of the car park at Kinshaldy (24th), with up to 11 Slavonian Grebes seen offshore, not far away at the lagoon at Tentsmuir Point NNR were four Little Egrets and a Greenshank. Counted at Boarhills were 11 Twite and five Corn Buntings, 25 Long-tailed Ducks were off Kinghorn and seen from the Eden Estuary Centre were 80 Scaup, seven Little Egrets and one Greenshank. Seen off Braefoot Point (25th) were one Great Northern Diver W, one Red-throated Diver, one Great Crested Grebe, two Goosanders and two Goldeneyes. Noted at the Eden Estuary Centre were nine Little Egrets, one White-tailed Eagle, one Kingfisher, one Treecreeper, 92 Scaup, c500 Redshanks, one Greenshank, 85 Black-tailed Godwits and 23 Golden Plovers, whilst in Kirkcaldy Harbour (26th) were one Red-throated Diver in the inner harbour along with 38 Mallards and 13 Shags. Not far away at Pathhead one male Blackcap, one female Stonechat and three Goosanders were noted and seen from Fife Ness were five Puffins and three Red-throated Divers. A Red-throated Diver and six Shags were off Braefoot Point (26th) and a seawatch at Kinghorn (27th) produced a possible Brünnich’s Guillemot, which flew in landed on the water but not seen again in the swell. Also noted were two Little Auks, 25 Long-tailed Ducks and 620 Shags. One Red-necked Grebe, one Great Northern Diver and c6 Red-throated Divers were at Burntisland, a Sparrowhawk, nine Whooper Swans, one female Scaup and two Ravens were seen at Cameron Reservoir and noted in Kirkcaldy Harbour were a Kingfisher and a Common Scoter. Counted in Largo Bay were seven Slavonian Grebes, 222 Velvet Scoters, 21 Common Scoters, one Black-throated Diver, one Red-throated Diver, two Guillemots, two Red-breasted Mergansers, two Long-tailed Ducks, one Tufted Duck, three Gannets and one Great Crested Grebe and at nearby Kilconquhar Loch were 175 Goldeneye, one female Scaup, 31 Tufted Ducks, six Little Grebes, one drake Pochard, one Lesser Black-backed Gull, 18 Herring Gulls and three Great Black-backed Gulls. Seen from Braefoot Terminal were one Black-throated Diver, one Great Crested Grebe and six Red-breasted Mergansers. The Seawatching Day Count at Fife Ness was 53 Little Auks, 26 Long-tailed Ducks N, 89 Common Scoters N, 22 Red-throated Divers N, four Goldeneye N, four Puffins, three Red-breasted Mergansers N and an Iceland Gull, a Storm Petrel W, one Tystie E and nine Little Auks E were seen from Crail and noted from Dysart (28th) were two Little Auks, one Tystie East, two adult Mediterranean Gulls, three Red-throated Divers, 74 Common Scoters E, 14 Long-tailed Ducks, two Pale-bellied Brent Geese W and c240 Shags E. Seen from Newburgh were five Scaup, 170 Goldeneye and 180 Wigeon, 14 Scaup, 18 Velvet Scoters, c200 Common Scoters, three Shags, 36 Eiders and a Grey Wagtail were seen in St Andrews Bay and a male Merlin was on the edge of Auchtermuchty. The excellent seawatching spell continued at Fife Ness with a count of one adult White-billed Diver S, 14 Great Northern Divers N, 3S, three Black-throated Divers N, 45 Red-throated Divers, one possible Brünnich’s Guillemot N, 69 Little Auks N, 14S, two Tysties, two Grey Phalaropes N, 48 Long-tailed Ducks N, 9S, five Velvet Scoters N, 40 Common Scoters, two Little Gulls N, one Great Crested Grebe N, 55 Pink-footed Geese, five Teal, one Goosander and 17 Purple Sandpipers A seawatch between Fife Ness and Crail produced five Great Northern Divers, one Black-throated Diver, seven Red-throated Divers, two Puffins and a Little Auk. Seen from Braefoot Terminal were one Black-throated Diver, two Red-throated Divers, two Grey Herons and two Ravens. The Seawatching Count from Fife Ness (29th) was two Manx Shearwaters N, 66 Puffins N, 54 Little Auks N, 10 Long-tailed Ducks, 51 Common Scoters, three Great Northern Diver S, one N, 20 Red Throated Divers, one Goldeneye and one Red-breasted Merganser.
Information supplied courtesy of Malcolm Ware